DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) This proposal is for a conference grant for the Fifth E. coli and Small Genomes Conference to he held October 12-15, 1997 at the conference center in Snowbird, Utah. The E. coli genome project was one of the first initiated and when it is completed this year will be the largest genome sequenced to date, nearly 2.5 times the size of typical genomes under study such as H. influenzae, the first prokaryotic genome to be completed. The extensive physiologic, biochemical, and genetic analysis of E. coli over the last four decades make this the best studied of prokaryotic organisms and one of the model systems to which all others are compared. The larger size of the genome in itself promises that there will be a wider range of functions to be analyzed, and this guarantees that E. coli will continue to provide precedent and paradigm for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. There is great excitement over the prospect of comparing the sequences and contents of as many as 15 prokaryotic genomes over the next year or two, and E. coli is expected to occupy a prominent place in this analysis. Considerable integration of different aspects of microbiology will undoubtedly take place, including new perspectives on evolution and the requirements for life. To achieve these goals, particularly of integration and synergy, scientists from diverse disciplines must interact. Thus this conference will include active genome researchers, such as sequencing experts and informatics specialists working in database design, sequence analysis, or simulation; geneticists developing new methods to take advantage of genomic information, e.g. for functional analysis; and cell biologists and biochemists who have specialized in areas now ripe for genomics such as metabolism, chromosome structure, or gene regulation. While there have been a number of recent genome conferences, continuing completion and release of new genome sequences and developing momentum for analysis of this huge amount of information means the community has continued need of such conferences. This meeting has become established as the only regular annual bacterial genomics conference during the last 5 years and has assured status and quality.